This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SBSS). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Project Description and Requirements: Healthcare-associated infections, or HAIs, are a significant cause of illness and death for patients in the U.S. healthcare system. At any given time, HAIs affect one out of every 31 hospital inpatients, or 3% of all hospitalized patients. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) spearheaded national implementation projects using the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) to target CLABSIs and CAUTIs in acute care settings. These projects showed a showed a 41% reduction central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in over 1000 ICUs[i] and the CUSP for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in hospitals project resulted in a 30% decrease in over 700 non-ICUs.[ii] These two projects and other projects have resulted in the following toolkits: Core Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) Toolkit https:/www.ahrq.gov/hai/cusp/modules/index.html Toolkit for Reducing CLABSI: https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/clabsi-tools/index.html Toolkit for Reducing CAUTI in Acute Care Hospitals: https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/tools/cauti-hospitals/index.html Toolkit to Improve Safety for Mechanically Ventilated Patients: https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/tools/mvp/index.html Toolkit for Preventing CLABSI and CAUTI in ICUs: https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/tools/clabsi-cauti-icu/index.html Many of the tools in these toolkits were developed several years ago, and some were developed over 10 years ago. The purpose of this project is to refine and update these outdated tools. HAI subject matter experts will need to be identified and an environmental scan of the current evidence related to the prevention of these HAIs in the acute care setting needs to be conducted. The resulting environmental scan report will identify specific areas where updates are required. The next step will be to update the above toolkits to be consistent with current evidence and recommendations while preserving the foundation of the CUSP approach. The revised tools will be used in the implementation phase of this project. The contractor will need assemble a qualified team to recruit and support 150-400 acute care units (ICUs and non-ICUs) to participate in rolling cohorts of at least six months, and not exceeding nine months. Recruited units should include representation from each of the 10 HHS regions. Enrolled units will use the updated tools to improved patient outcomes related to CLABSI, CAUTI, and/or VAP. The tools used in project implementation will need to adhere to the AHRQ template and assure compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. During implementation, the project team will need to provide quality improvement (QI) coaching, technical assistance, subject matter expertise, and data gathering support. After implementation, the units’ experiences and self-reported progress will be described in a report and used to develop the final version of CUSP for HAI prevention toolkits for public use. All finalized tools/ resources in the toolkits (except video and audio) shall be consistent with current evidence and recommendations, and preserve the foundation of the CUSP approach. Period of Performance: 45 months Capability Information Sought: Capabilities necessary to successfully complete this project include: Expertise related to the prevention of healthcare-associated infections in the acute care setting. Familiarity with AHRQ toolkits, the CUSP method, and quality improvement projects. Experience reviewing existing scientific literature for the purpose of updating specific parts of existing toolkits. Experience in recruiting; demonstrated capability to recruit at least 150-400 intensive care and non-intensive care acute units from each of the 10 Health and Human Services (HHS) regions. Ability to support an implementation project of the prescribed size while providing technical support, implementation guidance, quality improvement support, and educational materials. Experience developing and implementing an Operating Plan that identifies AHRQ toolkits to be updated with current evidence, recommendations, and AHRQ publishing standards. Proficiency in developing and implementing an Assessment Plan to evaluate changes in recruited units' process and outcome measures in prevention of HAIs while participating in implementation efforts. Capacity to store data, develop educational materials, and manage content securely, including management of personal identifiable information (PII), and if necessary, protected health information (PHI). Experience in performing multiple tasks in parallel while meeting all deliverable timelines. Understanding of and demonstrated proficiency with federal government public posting requirements, including section 508 accessibility. Expertise in project management in the areas of patient safety, implementing quality improvement projects in many facilities, knowledge of healthcare associated infections in acute care settings, recruitment of site for voluntary participation. Experience in developing and executing a management plan which described the organizational structure of the project team, administration of the project team, roles of subcontractors and consultants, how communication with the federal government would be conducted, how pertinent federal government requirements would be satisfied, and how potential challenges would be overcome. Experience with work of similar size and complexity working with government agencies as private sector contractor. Experiences within the past 5 years should be highlighted. The capability statement response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice should include the following information: a) Staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; b) Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; c) Corporate experience and information on prior projects of similar size and complexity; and d) list any Government-wide contracting vehicles for which the respondent has a contract (example, GSA Schedule, etc.). Information Submission Instructions Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement. The cover page must include the following: UEI number Organization name Organization address Size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to NAICS code 541720. Technical point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, and e-mail addresses. All Capability Statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Robert Zuhlke, Contract Specialist,
[email protected] in MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 1:00 PM on 11/16/23. Responses should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (including the cover page, all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).